


Last Minute Saves

by alessandralee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Board Games, Drinking, F/M, Scrabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-03
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2018-01-07 08:30:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1117738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A game of Scrabble and a few too many beers (at least for Jemma).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last Minute Saves

Jemma seriously considered ignoring Skye when she knocked on the door to her bunk. She really would have benefitted from the brief nap she was planning, even if it was technically 5 PM in the empty stretch of Atlantic Ocean they were currently flying over. It was their eighth time crossing that ocean in as many days and Jemma had given up on trying to force her body to adjust to whatever time zone they were in that day. They were still nine hours away from their destination, a Royal Air Force base on Cyprus, where an archaeological dig had unearthed an artifact that gave anyone who handled it violent hallucinations.

So she should have spent this time sleeping, because she was definitely going to be needed when they landed. But then Skye had uttered the word “Scrabble” and Jemma was helpless to resist. She had a four game winning streak, and Fitz thought that a fifth win might make Ward cry. So she traded her plush slippers for a thick pair of wool socks and headed for the lounge, where Skye waited with both Ward and Fitz.

“Coulson says he’s busy and May just glared at me when I asked her to join us,” Skye explained. Jemma had thought May was warming up to the idea of having Skye on their team, but clearly she was wrong. “But Coulson said we could finish off the rest of the beer. It’s not enough to keep us going until we land, but it should last us a few hours.”

Jemma didn’t really like to drink when they played board games, as they messed with her ability to focus. She was naturally competitive, you don’t get two PhDs at an age when most people are still undergraduates without some sort of competitive streak, and she felt it undermined her abilities. But everyone else had a bottle, so when Ward pressed one into her hand she accepted it and took a deep sip. It had been a long week; it wouldn’t kill her to relax a little.

“Here’s the deal,” Skye began. “You’ve won four times in a row. Fitz thinks that if you win again, Ward will cry. I really don’t want to see that, so we’re playing in teams. You two,” she gestured between Jemma and Ward, “ versus me and Fitz.”

“You know that means we’ll win,” Ward interrupted.

“Yes,” Skye calmly replied, as if she’d been expecting Ward to say that. “Which is why we get to use the scrabble word app Fitz downloaded.”

Fitz held up his phone. “This way there’s a level playing field and we don’t have to take twenty minute breaks while you two argue about the proper spelling of the work ‘civilisation.’”

After everyone had agreed to those rules, Jemma moved to join Ward on the couch, with Skye and Fitz sitting in recliners on the opposite side of the table.

The Scrabble word app turned out to give Skye and Fitz a major advantage. They even managed to start the game off by winning 23 points with the word “zephyr.” Jemma and Ward managed to stay pretty close at the beginning of the game, but eventually fell behind. This probably had more to do with the three beers Jemma downed within the first half hour of the game than it did with Fitz’s app. Apparently the week had been more stressful that she’d originally thought. At least she had plenty of time to sober up before they landed. But if she’d bothered to look around, she’d have noticed that Skye and Fitz had barely made a dent in their first drinks.

All in all, the game took nearly two hours, both because of Jemma’s fuzzy brain and Skye and Fitz’s inability to agree on which words to play. And as it turned out, the alcohol wasn’t the only thing going to Jemma’s head. The more invested he became in the game, the more Ward moved in towards the board, and also Jemma. At one point, he spent thirty minutes with his left thigh pushed against Jemma’s right. She’d frozen when he first brushed up against her, but he hadn’t even seemed to notice. He was more preoccupied with figuring out what they could do with the letters “AELBGMK.” That had been a particularly low scoring round until she had found a way to relax.

And it was hard to relax with him so close. Not only were their legs pressed together, but every few rounds Ward would stretch his long arms across the back of the couch and, in turn, her neck and shoulders. She could practically feel his muscles rippling against her skin. A part of her wished he’d worn a thicker shirt, maybe even multiple layers, but part of her was enjoying it too much. Either way, she couldn’t keep herself from blushing as she added four letters to the board to turn her previously played “oral” into “pectoral.” Quite frankly, she wouldn’t mind having those pressed up against her as well. Her blush must have been obvious, because Skye winked at her from across the table.

Jemma’s buzz started to face towards the end of the game, and she and Ward managed to tighten the gap in the scores. Now Skye and Fitz were only ahead by five points.

“This game has been a…” Skye joked, as she placed the letters D and E in front of ‘light,’ which Jemma had played during another round where Ward’s arm pressed against her back. That left her and Fitz with one more tile, which Fitz has already stuck back in the bag. It must have been useless.

Next to her, Ward began laughing. This was a miracle. They had exactly three letters left, and they were the perfect ones. Jemma quickly tacked them to the end of the most recent word.

“Yes, I agree. This game has been most delight _ful_ , she said with extra emphasis on the last syllable.

“I’m pretty sure that puts us ahead by exactly one point. And makes us the winners.” “Clearly Ward’s recent Scrabble losses made him feel a little cocky about this win. 

Maybe it was the remains of the alcohol flowing through her system, or the rush she got from this small victory, but Jemma was very proud of their work. Proud enough to get on top of the table and do her own victory dance. Proud enough to use her newfound height to her advantage and pull Grant close enough to press a kiss on his lips.

It took her all of a second to regret that last move. But before she could pull out of the kiss and run from the room, he was kissing her back, his hands moving to her hips and pulling her closer.

Grant Ward was good kisser. So good that Jemms didn’t even notice Fitz gaping at them and muttering under his breath, or Skye dragging him out of the room.

Grant wrapped his hands more tightly around her hips and gently lifted her off the table and back onto the ground, all the while never breaking contact with her lips. When he finally did pull back, Jemma was wasn’t sure what he was going to say.

“You’re drunk.”

That wasn’t even remotely what she expecting after a kiss like that.

Flustered, she replied, “Not as drunk as you apparently think.”

He laughed. “Good, then you’re sober enough to agree to continue this once the alcohol’s out of your system.”

He was out of the room before she had a change to argue with him.

They were now about 7 hours from their destination. Jemma knew she should probably use that time to catch up on her sleep, like she intended. But it was hard to fall asleep with that replaying in her head.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for prompt "celebratory kiss" on my Trope Bingo card.


End file.
